[NEohioPAL] Berko review: THE SHADOW BOX (CSU: 2009 SUMMER STAGES)

[Roy Berko]

‘’THE SHADOW BOX’
emotionally draining  at CSU
 
Roy Berko
 
(Member, American Theatre
Critics Association)
 
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“This lifetime doesn’t
take forever.”  “Every life has to
make sense on its own terms.”  With
these two sentences ringing in my ears, and emotions welling, I left Cleveland
State University’s 2009 Summer Stages production of ‘THE SHADOW BOX.’
 
Michael Cristofer’s ‘The Shadow Box came to Broadway on March 31, 1977, with a cast that
included, Mandy Patinkin and Geraldine Fitzgerald.  It went
on to win a Tony Award for Best Play and a Pulitzer
Prize for Drama.  The
script was made into a television
movie in 1980, which was directed by Paul Newman. 
 
In the act of shadow
boxing, a person fights with an imaginary opponent, often while encased in a
psychological container, which holds his/her thoughts and may allow others to
look inside.  Since in Cristofer’s
play we get to “eavesdrop” into the lives of three terminally ill patients as
they live the last weeks of their lives in hospice cottages on the grounds of a
hospital, the title is quite appropriate.  
 
Adding to the shadow box
effect is the writer’s device of having the characters sitting on an isolated
stool and being asked questions about the dying process by a voice which
represents the audience’s thoughts.  And, there is also the fight each is having, boxing with the illusion of
their upcoming death. 
 
It helps in viewing the
play to be aware of Elizabeth Kubler-Ross’s theory of the five stages which a
person, and those in relationships with them, often go through when diagnosed
with a terminal illness. These stages are:  denial (“This can’t be happening”), anger (“It’s not fair”),
bargaining (“I’ll do anything not to die”), depression (“There is no point of
treatment”) and acceptance (“I accept that my life is over”).   As we watch ‘THE SHADOW BOX,’ we
see the participants in or transition into these stages.
 
Joe, a middle-aged,
blue-collar family, man has accepted his fate, but his wife Maggie is in
denial.  She refuses to even step
into the hospice cottage as this action will take her into acceptance.
 
Brian, a bisexual English
professor is being cared for by his lover, Mark.   Each appears to be in acceptance, yet Brian is
escaping into a world of illusion by submerging himself into nonsensical
writing.  And, when forced to face
reality during a visit by Brian’s ex-wife, Mark shows that he is actually in
depression.  His reality climaxes
in a brilliantly written monologue which, in part says, “We are dying here,
lady. That's what it's about. Brian looks at me and I can see it in his eyes.
One stone slab smack in the face, the rug is coming out from under, the light
is going out.  It's sick and putrid
and soft and rotten and it is killing me.”
 
And then there is
Felicity, a crusty old woman who has been living a life of delusion, a delusion
that is keeping her alive.
 
CSU’s production, under
the direction of Everett Quinton, hits most of the right notes.  The pacing is good, the emotional
levels held in proper check, the intensity is well defined.  The staging, in which we see all three
families working in the same set, at the same time, yet in isolation, is
extremely creative.  The weakness
is the lack of balance in the level of acting between the Equity cast members
and the student performers.  
 
Greg Violand (Brian)
walks his character’s fine line between reality and escapism.  He is totally believable as the
intellect who attempts to fool both himself and all about him, that he has
accepted his fate.  
 
Tom Woodward (Joe),
looking gaunt and gray, is totally natural in his characterization.  The emotional strain between Joe and
his wife Maggie is like viewing a tightly pulled rubber band, ready to snap,
with each actor on an opposite end.  Ursula Cataan is totally on target as the denying wife.
 
Story Comeaux, as
Beverly, Brian’s flighty ex-wife, who keeps her emotional distance  from the death issue, has some
excellent scenes.  Lydia Chanenka,
(Felicity), the strongest of the non-professional cast members, is
appropriately pathetic as the old lady.
 
The rest of the cast is
acceptable, but not outstanding.  Justin Steck, does fine as the unseen narrator, but is on the acting
surface when he appears before our eyes.  Randy Muchowski as Mark, is fine in most of his scenes, but doesn’t have
the acting depth to plumb out what should have been the play’s most emotionally
wrenching monologue.   (Oh, to
have seen the then young Mandy Pantinkin wring pathos out of that speech.)  Denise Astorino as Agnes, Felicity’s
daughter, gives a properly emotional portrayal.   Charles Hargrave has little to do as Joe and Maggie’s
son.
 
Don McBride’s set design
works beautifully, Dennis Dugan’s lighting was spotty. In some scenes there
were light spillages that allowed for the wrong actors to be highlighted, and,
at times, light shone into the eyes of audience members.  Alison Garrigan’s costumes hit the
1970s well.  It would have been
helpful if the program had indicated the date of the play so that Garrigan’s
clothing didn’t have to carry the whole burden.  
 
The selection of “Don’t
Sit Under the Apple Tree” as the play’s final music, was era and emotionally
wrong.   It is a 1942 song
(incidentally, written by Clevelander  Sam Stept), which came on loud and sprightly after the play’s
serious emotional ending, jarring the audience’s senses.
 
CAPSULE JUDGEMENT:  ‘THE SHADOW BOX’ is a very well
written, purposeful, and emotion-laden script.  It gets a very serviceable production at CSU, that is worth
seeing. 
 
‘THE SHADOW BOX’ runs in
repertoire with ‘CHEKOV IN YALTA’ and ‘RETURN TO THE FORBIDDEN PLANET’ through
August 9 at CSU’s Factory Theatre, 1833 East 23rd Street.  For tickets and the schedule call
216-687-2109.
 Roy Berko's blog, which contains theatre and dance reviews from 2001 through 2009, as well as his consulting and publications information, can be found at http://royberko.info

His reviews can also be found on www.coolcleveland.com and NeOHIOpal (to subscribe visit http://mailman.listserve.com/listmanager/listinfo/neohiopal.)